IU Football Welcomes Four Recruits

John Decker

01/05/2006

Florida and Texas are two states Indiana hopes to attract some top-flight recruits from in the final month of recruiting, and the Hoosiers kick off the month of official visits with a pair of visitors from each of those football hotbed this weekend.

Florida and Texas are two states Indiana hopes to attract some top-flight recruits from in the final month of recruiting, and the Hoosiers kick off the month of official visits with a pair of visitors from each of those football hotbed this weekend.

HoosierNation.com has learned Floridians Culmer St. Jean and Wondy Pierre Louis are expected to be joined by Texans Mandella Roberts and James Thomas in Bloomington this weekend for official visits.

The 6-1, 215-pound St. Jean and the 6-0, 176-pound Pierre Louis are teammates at Naples Lely H.S., and they've both drawn plenty of interest from Big Ten schools. The high school teammates have taken their official visits to the same schools thus far, making stops at Minnesota (Dec. 2), West Virginia (Dec. 9) and Wisconsin (Dec. 16). There have also been rumors about Ohio State possibly offering the duo as well, although nothing has materialized as of yet.

St. Jean is being recruited by many programs as a safety, although Indiana also likes him as a linebacker. There's certainly no disputing his athleticism, as he played quarterback this past season for his prep team, throwing for 1,000 yards and running for another 200.

While the other three trips St. Jean has taken have been to programs that appeared in postseason bowl games in recent weeks, he said Indiana is trying to attract him to Bloomington with the idea that he can be a big part of taking IU back to the postseason.

"They've talked to me about the improvement they are making," said St. Jean. "We'd kind of be the first class, bringing them back to their winning ways."

Pierre-Louis, meanwhile, is being recruited at another position of need – cornerback. A native of Haiti, Pierre-Louis is another outstanding athlete, having long jumped nearly 24 feet and triple jumped 48 feet in track as well as starring as both a cornerback and wide receiver at the prep level. He recorded 25 tackles and a pair of interceptions while helping Lely H.S. to a 6-4 record in 2005, and also handled the team's placekicking duties as well.

Texas, meanwhile, is a state that Indiana didn't hit hard a year ago, but has resurfaced as an Indiana recruiting destination. Roberts is a 6-0, 220-pound linebacker from Lufkin, Texas, while the 5-10, 175-pound James Thomas is a quarterback/athlete from Missouri City, Texas.

Thomas verballed to UTEP last summer, but has decided to go through with his five allotted official visits. He threw for 2,000 yards and rushed for another 1,000 as a senior at Ft. Bend Marshall H.S., and Indiana appears to be recruiting him to play quarterback. He does have 4.43 speed, and has other programs looking at him as either a wide receiver or defensive back.

Roberts, meanwhile, was a Class 5A All-State honorable mention pick and an all-district choice after recording 128 tackles and six sacks. Lufkin High School's all-time leader in tackles, he helped lead his team to a 14-1 record and a berth in the Class 5A state semifinals last month, where they lost to Southlake Carroll, 46-28. Carroll was ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time by USA Today, while Lufkin was ranked No. 17 nationally.

Be sure to visit HoosierNation.com for news on their official visits, along with breaking news on any commitments and the best recruiting coverage of Indiana football.